A sleep-deprived new mum has reported that the Emma Adapt Pillow gave her the best night's rest in years, after testing the customisable design.
Rachel Sloper, Affiliate Lead for Regionals Content and Training, tried the pillow to see if it could improve her sleep. As a new mum, she said a good night's sleep is harder to come by than ever, and it is crucial to maximise the time available for quality rest.
Having tried many pillows over the years, she noted how hard it can be to get the right height to support the head without waking up with a stiff neck and shoulders. One regular pillow does not suffice, and two usually makes it too high, often leading to awkward positions with an arm boosting a single pillow.
Design and Customisation
The Emma Adapt Pillow retails at £59 and offers medium-to-firm support. Inside the washable cover, it is made up of three removable layers to customise the sleep experience depending on the user's preferred position.
The layers include a gel foam layer designed to 'hug your neck perfectly', a Visco Memory Foam layer to distribute pressure and weight evenly, and a soft foam layer that 'feels like a cloud' to relieve pressure during sleep.
For the best night's rest, side sleepers are advised to keep all the layers in for enough height to fill the space between the shoulder and head. Back sleepers should remove one thin layer to reduce neck flexion, and stomach sleepers should aim for the flattest possible setting by removing as many layers as possible.
Testing Experience
The pillow arrived rolled up and vacuum-packed into a compact box. Sloper allowed 24 hours for it to fully fill out and reshape after unpackaging. It fit well into a standard-size Dunelm pillowcase.
Initially sceptical because of how light the memory foam was, she noted that similar supportive pillows generally have more weight. Her husband's Tempur pillow weighs 2.48kg, more than twice the weight of the Emma Adapt at 990g. She soon found that weight had no bearing on comfort.
The first night sleeping on the Emma Adapt Pillow felt strange initially, as it was firmer than she was used to. Her resident pillow expert assured her that it takes a little while for them to contour to the head and neck for the best support.
She also had to alter her usual sleeping position, as she no longer needed her arm under the pillow to boost it. Once she found a comfortable new arrangement, she drifted off quickly. Waking the next morning, she felt well-rested and pain-free in the usual problem areas around her neck and shoulders.
Performance and Verdict
During testing, Sloper found that the layers can be removed and replaced very easily, with the washable case simply zipping off. She noted a chemical smell from the memory foam when opening the cover, but it should air out gradually with use.
She liked that the pillow supports the head and neck well, keeping her properly elevated all night and filling the gap between her shoulder and head. After a week of sleeping on the Adapt pillow at its highest setting for side sleepers, her sleep quality improved massively. After getting up for night feeds, she drifts back to sleep much faster than before, without tossing and turning.
Beyond the flexibility with the height, she was impressed with the options for firm or softer-medium support offered simply by flipping the pillow over. It covers plenty of bases, making it an ideal all-rounder option for guests too.
Other adaptable options include Simba's CustomFlex Pillow at £159 and the Silentnight Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow at £32 from Argos. The Emma Adapt Pillow is available from £59, with cooling options from £79 and pillow pair bundles starting at £118.
